The lay of the city
Map of Ravens Bluff Foreign District The Foreign District is walled off from the rest of the city with two entrances, west from Seaglimpse and east from Gowntown. The district is a lot quieter and cleaner than one would expect from a city this size, and most embassies are characterful constructions in the distinctive architectural style of their homeland, but everything gives the impression of curious wanderers not being welcome. Watch patrols frequent the streets and while entry isn't prohibited, anyone lingering will soon be challenged about his business. The district has a select few private residences in addition to the embassies. Harbor District Seaglimpse Seaglimpse is a sparely visited neighbourhood outside the city walls, the roads nothing but mud and gravel, and most ships dock either in Silverscales or the bay. Have to, in fact, since the main custom houses are there and every ship bringing a certain amount of cargo need to take anchor there. The wharfs here are dedicated to repairing and building ships, foremost by the prominent High Seas Shipbuilding company. Silverscales Silverscales, at the docksides of the town, is outside the city walls and a quite seedy and rough neighborhood, the alleys without names and many of the shops without signs, and the smell of fish is pervasive wherever you go. This is a poor neighborhood, the streets of simple dirt and most buildings made of wood. The docksiders aren't very welcoming to outsiders. Bitterstone Bitterstone is part of the harbor, often even called the heart of it, and bustling with activity at all hours; it's mostly frequented by common working folk, many of whom have their residence here, and sailors. It's in decent shape, unlike Silverscales, with stone buildings, public lanterns and cobbled streets. Ladyrock Ladyrock is the small isle in the middle of the Fire River and can be reached by ferry from either side. The Ladyrock Lighthouse here is the residence of the Regent of the Harbor. The isle has a reputation for being a favoured meeting place of the less legally inclined. Temple District Altarside Altarside, like all of Temple, is a prosperous neighborhood, though the least so of Temple. Still, one finds here important sites like civic temples, guild headquarters and major businesses. People of all kinds come through here and those having their residence here are likely better off, but not extraordinarily so. Holyhouses This neighborhood named for its many temples is one of the most visually impressive and striking of the city. It is a prestigious neighborhood also featuring the main buildings of various guilds, noble families and merchant houses. Swordspoint Swordspoint, named for the duels that used to be held here, is less impressive than Altarside or Holyhouses, but is a busy district featuring many of the smaller businesses and establishments. It features the largest parkland inside the confines of the walls, the DeVillars Park. Gowntown Gowntown is a prosperous and important neighborhood, featuring the highest number of private residences in the temple district. The neighborhood is heavily patrolled by the Watch who swiftly remove would-be street merchants or musicians. Market district Market is a busy place that never sleeps, countless businesses making shop in stalls both on the street and inside massive, open halls that once used to be warehouses. At night, jugglers, musicians, illusionists, acrobats and similar make money here. It is also the district suffering the most from refuse and graffiti. Uptown District Torchtown Torchtown has many vendors and traders spilling over from Market, turning it into a busy place as well. It is also where one finds the most crafters who are independent of the guilds, and features the highest rate of racial minorities, mostly halflings and half-elfs. Many residents of the city never come here, and it is an everchanging place where entire buildings or even streets are completely remodelled in the span of a year. Sixstar Sixstar is a luxurious neighborhood, featuring only a few businesses. It is a decidedly quiet and well-patrolled place, being mostly private residences of nobility and other people of wealth. Tentowers Tentowers is the richest neighborhood in Ravens Bluff. People not of obvious wealth or nobility are hurried along quite fast by watchmen. It has many manors, halls, headquarters of important institutions and a select few high-class shops and establishments, like an opera house, finest restaurants or a chess shop. Mortonbrace Mortonbrace is a mostly anonymous neighborhood, a residential area of average people preferring their quiet. The neighborhood is mainly known as the place where the colliseum is. The Skymbles The forgotten neighborhood of Ravens Bluff, The Skymbles are a little less poor than Silverscales and a lot less infamous. Most of this place is small residences and cheap apartment buildings of the common laborers. Crow's End district Anvil This is the center of activity for Clearwater Harbor. It is perhaps the busiest neighborhood in Ravens Bluff and the center of its trade, and any group or institutions wanting to play a major part in that needs to have a notable presence here. In terms of architecture, race and social station this is the most diverse place of the city, and many call it the heart of Ravens Bluff itself, though this claim is far more common with workers than with nobles or priests. It is the place with the highest watch present, though they are less immediately obvious here than in Temple or Uptown given the amount of bustling activity. Burnt Gables The east side of Clearwater Harbor is a bit quieter and cleaner, named Burnt Gables for a fire burning down half the neighborhood long ago. Most buildings here are warehouses or other things concerned with sea trade and fishing. Shadystreets Shadystreets is the poorest and most desolate place inside the city walls. Most buildings are made of wood, often recognizable remains of wrecked ships, and refuse, vermin and scruffy animals abound. The Shutters The Shutters is dominated by warehouses and has few residents, most of them hired guards. Southside district Pumpside Pumpside, named for the presence of the Ravens Bluff Sanitation Facility where once was a junkjard, has an unusual mix of poverty and prosperity in its buildings. Most prominent is the huge House of War, the local temple of Tempus. The most unpleasant feature of this neighborhood is the smell from the sanitation facility, which can be quite intolerable on a bad day. Tlasbras Tlasbras has traditionally been favoured as place of residents for mages thanks to the presence of the Academy of Arts, and their wealth spread to the neighborhood with many old the shops here catering to their needs. Stormrime The Stormrime disctrict was known for suffering more from the frequent storms down the Dragon Reach than any other neighborhood in the Bluff, though restoration of the city walls and restocking of the tree line between city and Reach reduced this problem considerably. Still, after a good storm many of the facades here are glistening with salt, and many a tree trunk to the west is covered in an inch-thick layer of salt like a shell or strange suit of armor.